Merit Badge Camporee

12th Annual Invitational Merit Badge Camporee

Hosted by Troop 90

Shrewsbury, Pa

May 18 – May 20, 2018

Your troop is invited to apply to attend the 12th Annual Merit Badge Camporee. Make sure to add this event to your planning calendar for 2018. This Camporee has grown each year and has been as rewarding for both the scouts who have participated and the Merit Badge Counselors who have given of their time.

Due to the success of this event it will be an Invitational again this year. We will be limiting attendance to 300 scouts. You are asked to complete the online questionnaires by January 22st 2018 to be considered for invitation. We ask for your prompt response.

Please include the number of scouts who plan to attend and have your merit badge counselors who will lead a merit badge session complete the on-line Merit Badge Counselor form. Each troop is required to provide counselors for at least 2 badges, however we ask that if you have a large troop (10+), please provide additional counselor(s). If your counselors can teach various merit badges please have them complete a SEPARATE form for each Merit Badge they are willing to teach. This allows a better variety of courses to be taught and gives us options developing the best possible schedule.

Ideally if you are teaching a merit badge you should also provide supporting adults from your troop to assist. The success of this event depends on the willingness of each troop to share their talents with the other troops attending. Troops will be selected to attend based on their willingness to lead merit badge sessions compared to the number of boys they plan to bring. Last year the event hosted close to 300 scouts and 100+ scouters. Make sure you apply on time so you don’t miss out on this great event.

This year’s registration will again be through New Birth of Freedom Council's Tentaroo registration system. More details will be provided on how to access that system to register your scouts and adults in the future if your troop is selected to attend the event.

Available Counselors and Scouts interested in the badges will determine the final list.

If there is a badge not listed that can be taught in a one or two session time frame please feel free to add it to this list and provide us with the counselor's contact information. Also if there are any requirements that can not be completed in this time period please list these as Prerequisites. This will ensure that the boys can leave with completed blue cards. We offer four 3-4 hour merit badge sessions one each Friday Night, Saturday Morning, Afternoon, and Evening.

There are a few things to keep in mind when planning for this event.

Each troop needs to provide at least 2-deep-leadership for the entire weekend.

The success of this event is dependent on the availability of Merit Badge Counselors from each troop that attends. This allows for the most variety in badge selection. Each troop needs to volunteer to teach at least 2 merit badges over the course of the weekend. If you are not sure what needs to be done, feel free to ask, we can give you advice on what has worked well in the past.

If your troop is interested in participating, please discuss this with the adults and youth within your troop to see who is willing to lead a merit badge session and to make sure you will have the 2 deep leadership required. Keep in mind there is no limit to the number of adults you send and Merit Badge Counselors and assigned Assistants are free for the weekend! This is an all-volunteer effort; many hands make light work.

Scouts $35

Non-Volunteering Adults $20

Very Important Information

Please do not respond for adults in your troop without receiving their commitment to teach the merit badge you are offering during the Camporee. Last year we received several applications for the event and when we contacted the counselors listed, they advised us they didn't offer to teach the badge(s) listed. If you offer to teach a merit badge we expect that if you are selected to attend the event the counselor is willing to teach the badge during the weekend. Please list only the Merit Badges for which you are a counselor, and that you are comfortable teaching a one or two session class at this event.

Also, as in the past all counselors need to be registered merit badge counselors with current YPT (Youth Protection Training). NEW THIS YEAR if you are from Pennsylvania, proof of all required clearances is required at the Camporee as it is for any other scouting event. If the person does not have all the requirements listed above they need to start the process to secure all training and clearances by April 1st.

Also, any adult attending, even if not helping will need YPT and PA clearances (if you are from PA), please make sure your adults are aware of this requirement.

We hope your troop is able to attend and look forward to getting applications from you in January!

Timeline of events leading up to the Merit Badge Camporee

December– Invite Troops to Merit Badge Camporee

January 22th– Deadline to let us know if your troop would like to attend, how many scouts and adults and what Merit Badge(s) you would like to teach.

Early February (date TBD) – First planning meeting with interested troops to build schedule.

Late February – We will provide the schedule of merit badges for Scouts to select, including list of prerequisites. Please set reasonable expectations, it may not be possible to complete every merit badge diuring the Camporee. Some work may need to be completed before or after the Merit Badge Camporee.

March – Open registration (exact date TBD) for all scouts and adults attending. Payment will be at the time of registration through the Tentaroo system. T-shirt orders will be due at that time as well. Please note some classes will fill up quickly so plan to register as early as possible.

April – Scouts will be notified if the badges they selected are not available due to lack of interest. We need at least 2 scouts in each class. All class rosters will be finalized and all Merit badge counselors will be notified of class size so they can prepare materials.

Early May - final meeting for all troops attending and to finalize meal planning (note volunteers will be needed to help prepare and serve meals).

Please help us invite you to this event by providing your completed application and information about Merit Badge prerequisites etc for the classes you would like to lead no later than January 20th. The more information we have from you, initially, allows us to offer the best selections of merit badges each year.

Please tell us about your experience with this badge – i.e. is this badge related to your profession, a hobby, etc. This will help us decide which counselor may be the best fit if there are various people offering to teach the same badge.

Make sure to note if you have age restrictions for scouts or class size maximums as well for the badges you are offering and provide the counselor cell phone number so we can contact them if we have any questions. You can contact us through the Merit Badge Camporee email address listed below.